M. Swim Notches Impressive Individual Times

The Columbia men’s swimming and diving team competed in the ECAC championships this weekend in Cambridge, Massachusetts, finishing in fifth place with a total of 287 points. The Naval Academy finished in first with 703.5 points, followed by Harvard with 512.5. Despite the fifth-place finish, the Lions posted some impressive times throughout the three days of competition.

In the 200-yard medley relay, the Lions took fifth with a final time of 1:33.06, just edging out Yale by .02 seconds. In the 100-yard butterfly, Nick Barron and Bruno Esquen finished in second and third place, respectively. Columbia continued its success in the 100-yard events as Nate Mormann took third in the 100-yard backstroke with a scorching time of 50.91 seconds. In addition to the individual performances, the Lions’ 800-yard freestyle team finished strong, taking fourth place behind Navy, Johns Hopkins, and Harvard.

Despite some impressive individual performances, Columbia was unable to stay within reach of the winner’s circle as a few teams dominated the competition. Navy was in complete control of the championship from day one. Toward the end of the competition, the Midshipmen were still going strong, as they swept the 1,650-yard freestyle competition. League rival Harvard also had a good showing at the championships, but was unable to defend last year’s title.

While the end of the ECAC championship marked the end of the season for some Columbia swimmers, the Columbia men’s swimming and diving team still has the EISL championships and the Ivy League championships at the end of this week.